When you see people chopping and stacking firewood, filling barns with hay, or planting winter crops in the garden, its clear winter is not far away.

This all takes preparation and sometimes in the middle of winter when you need something and don’t have it; it’s too late. This brings us to this week’s main question, how much hay should I prepare for this winter.

Q: How much hay does a cow eat?

A: Factors that affect hay demands are; number of cattle, weight of cattle, whether the cow is lactating or not, feeding methods and storage of hay and size of bales. Cattle need 2.5 percent of their body weight in dry matter each day; hay is about 90 percent dry matter. So you need approximately 30 pounds of hay a day to maintain a 1,200-pound lactating cow.

Therefore, if you plan on feeding hay for four months, approximately 120 days, then you should plan for a minimum of four bales per cow if you are using a 4-foot-by-5-foot bale of hay. That is the common size in this area.

Each bale of hay weighs approximately 850 pounds. If you are feeding smaller 4-foot-by-4-foot bales you will need more and if you are feeding heavy 6-foot-by-5-foot bales you will need much less. Keep in mind this reduces if you have rye grass available and keep hay covered.

The age and size of your cows will also factor in to the amount of hay they eat.

Storing hay in a barn or under a tarp is always recommended when available. By leaving hay outside exposed to the elements you lose more than 25 percent of the bale’s value. Feeding hay straight on the ground will also account for a great amount of feeding loss. Using hay rings where animals cannot walk on the hay will save hay and reduce feeding cost.

Q: How much hay should I prepare for my horse?

A: Horses have higher nutrient requirements than cattle because of the difference in their digestive systems. Horses require higher quality forages with higher crude protein levels and greater digestibility.

For the average horses, without winter forages, you should plan for approximately 10 square bales per horse per month or one round bale, along with supplemental feed.

If you have rye grass available, and you are feeding a good feed supplement you should still plan on using about five bales per month.

If you are planning on purchasing hay for your horse or cattle, I would recommend you begin searching and purchasing it now. Most hay producers are getting their last hay cuttings in now and once it is sold, it’s gone.

You cannot cut and bale anymore once winter gets in and are summer grasses are dormant.

Every January and February we get calls from people in desperate need of hay, sometimes we can find them some and sometimes we can’t.

So this is my advice to you, don’t wait until you need hay to try to find it. Prepare now for the months ahead.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extension Service. He can be reached at 601-445-8201.

When you see people chopping and stacking firewood, filling barns with hay, or planting winter crops in the garden, its clear winter is not far away.

This all takes preparation and sometimes in the middle of winter when you need something and don’t have it; it’s too late. This brings us to this week’s main question, how much hay should I prepare for this winter.

Q: How much hay does a cow eat?

A: Factors that affect hay demands are; number of cattle, weight of cattle, whether the cow is lactating or not, feeding methods and storage of hay and size of bales. Cattle need 2.5 percent of their body weight in dry matter each day; hay is about 90 percent dry matter. So you need approximately 30 pounds of hay a day to maintain a 1,200-pound lactating cow.

Therefore, if you plan on feeding hay for four months, approximately 120 days, then you should plan for a minimum of four bales per cow if you are using a 4-foot-by-5-foot bale of hay. That is the common size in this area.

Each bale of hay weighs approximately 850 pounds. If you are feeding smaller 4-foot-by-4-foot bales you will need more and if you are feeding heavy 6-foot-by-5-foot bales you will need much less. Keep in mind this reduces if you have rye grass available and keep hay covered.

The age and size of your cows will also factor in to the amount of hay they eat.

Storing hay in a barn or under a tarp is always recommended when available. By leaving hay outside exposed to the elements you lose more than 25 percent of the bale’s value. Feeding hay straight on the ground will also account for a great amount of feeding loss. Using hay rings where animals cannot walk on the hay will save hay and reduce feeding cost.

Q: How much hay should I prepare for my horse?

A: Horses have higher nutrient requirements than cattle because of the difference in their digestive systems. Horses require higher quality forages with higher crude protein levels and greater digestibility.

For the average horses, without winter forages, you should plan for approximately 10 square bales per horse per month or one round bale, along with supplemental feed.

If you have rye grass available, and you are feeding a good feed supplement you should still plan on using about five bales per month.

If you are planning on purchasing hay for your horse or cattle, I would recommend you begin searching and purchasing it now. Most hay producers are getting their last hay cuttings in now and once it is sold, it’s gone.

You cannot cut and bale anymore once winter gets in and are summer grasses are dormant.

Every January and February we get calls from people in desperate need of hay, sometimes we can find them some and sometimes we can’t.

So this is my advice to you, don’t wait until you need hay to try to find it. Prepare now for the months ahead.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extension Service. He can be reached at 601-445-8201.